Party+Blitz

tocPut some graphical representation of the game here.

Designed by:
 * ~ media type="custom" key="4549688" ||~ media type="custom" key="4512288" ||~ media type="custom" key="4512284" ||
 * = media type="custom" key="4512202" ||= media type="custom" key="4512204" ||= media type="custom" key="4512206" ||

=Instructional Objective= Through this board game, students will learn how discounts are applied in a real life setting (the shopping mall). They will also be able to practice percentage calculations and rounding, use basic math operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division), and convert between percentages and fractions.

The following California Math Standards apply: **6th grade** Number Sense 1.4 - Calculate given percentages of quantities and solve problems involving discounts at sales. Number Sense 2.0 - Students calculate and solve problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

**7th grade** Number Sense 1.3 - Convert fractions to decimals and percents and use these representations in computations and applications. Number Sense 1.7 - Solve problems that involve discounts.


 * // What will the learners learn from this game (or more likely, what learning objectives are being reinforced by this game)? If it's for school use, where does it fit into the curriculum? (You can find links to curricular frameworks [|here] ). //**

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=Learners & Context of Use= This board game is designed for 6th and 7th grade math students (age 12-14). While some students like math, other students tend to question the relevance of what they are learning by asking "When are we going to use this in real life?" Through the exciting and fun process of buying items to host a great party, our target learners will experience real-world consumer math in action. They will learn to apply mathematical skills aimed at helping them calculate discounts and other transactions as they strategize to make the most of their monetary resources.

//**Before the game.**// Teachers can use this game to instill interest and motivate students to learn this subject matter during class either as a form of practice or for remediation. Not only are 5th grade math skills a pre-requisite, but students must also have been introduced to percentages, fractions, and discounts. Therefore, this game is designed to be played after teachers have presented those lessons in class.

The game is designed for small groups of students to ensure that they will have the most participation possible while also learning consumer math together. It is highly recommended that teachers group the students to account for varying skills in the class. Teachers can modify the rules for special needs students (e.g. a student's Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or 504 Plan may require the use of a calculator throughout the game).

//**During the game.**// Skills attained during the game can be easily transferred to the real-world setting. Students can immediately apply what they have learned as they make their purchases. The game is designed to be played more than once. With questions such as "What is 20% of the cash that you have right now?," students will face different calculations every time they play. The more times a student plays, the more practice they will receive, and the better their math skills will be (ideally).

//**After the game.**// This game can be tailored to finish within a standard class period of 45-50 minutes. Teachers should reserve 5-10 minutes at the end of class or at the beginning of the next class to discuss the parallels of the game with students' real life shopping experiences in order to point out that math is applicable to the real world.

Beyond the class setting, the varying complexities of the game also appeal to older teenagers and young adults who will resonate with the party theme and the decision-making process in dealing with limited monetary resources.

//** Who is the game designed for? Describe them in terms of their age, grade level, affinity towards the subject matter, and anything special about them that the reader should know. Where would the game be used? If in a school, what accommodations would you need to make to do it in a typical classroom? Is it designed to be played more than once? What would happen prior to the game? What would happen after it? **//

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=Competing Products= There are a couple of board games that share the same focus on consumer math. media type="custom" key="4543002" and media type="custom" key="4543004" are similar with our game in terms of presenting players with a list of shopping items and a fixed amount of money. However, they only ask players to use simple mathematical skills such as addition and subtraction.

Our game features discounts, the need to interpret percentages, and has the possibility of splitting proceeds, which requires players to know multiplication and division. In this aspect, media type="custom" key="4543022" and media type="custom" key="4543010" share the same requirement for math skills.

But our game still has another level of complexity. The amount of money given to players at the start is insufficient and they have to earn more through the game play. Four games - media type="custom" key="4543014", media type="custom" key="4543016", media type="custom" key="4550132", and media type="custom" key="4543018" - have the same approach, albeit each having some differences in the mechanic to generate money. Similar to our game, these four present risks and opportunities to the players in the form of the "Chance" cards.

Then there is media type="custom" key="4543020". It encompasses the various elements mentioned earlier and still adds a new dimension to the game. Players can buy items and set prices to sell them. This unique experience of duo perspectives is also mirrored in our game.

Differentiating from these competing products, our game also introduces cooperative play. In the midst of competing to win, players in our game are given opportunities to involve each other to generate more income than if they are to do it individually. This allows for more interaction and presents another level of strategy that players can leverage to win the game.

//** What's out there that covers the same content as this game? How is your game similar to others? How is it different and better? (You can check the [|Board Game Geek] search engine and the [|Educational Learning Games catalog] for school-oriented titles. **//

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=**Object of the Game**= Be the first player to purchase all of the party items from a shopping list determined by the players.

//**What's the game goal? What's the end state that players are striving for (e.g., to be the first to reach the Finish square, or to be the first to reach 100 points.)**//

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=Content Analysis=
 * ~ Content Type ||~ Content Elements ||~ Game Elements ||
 * **Facts** || * Percent
 * Fraction
 * Price
 * Items to buy
 * Definitions of game elements || * Information on game cards (e.g. 20%, 0.5, 3/5, etc.)
 * Instructions on game board and cards
 * Game rules

||
 * **Concepts** || * Discount
 * Interest rates
 * Cooperative mode
 * Individual mode
 * Competition
 * Opportunity
 * Value
 * Return on investment
 * Choice || * Information on game cards (e.g. discount and inflation)
 * Items of the same type having different price levels
 * Opportunities available to earn money
 * Opportunities with different levels of return on investment
 * Players compete against each other to be the fastest to complete the shopping list
 * Players cooperate with each other to earn more money
 * Players are presented with ample options during game play which they have to make a decision ||
 * **Principles** || * Economics (demand vs supply)
 * Decision-making || * Limited resources (e.g. money, opportunities to earn money, and number of items per type) necessitate players to make decisions and bear opportunity costs (ie. if a player wants to purchase items, s/he must forgo an opportunity to earn money at the same moment and vice versa)
 * Paths and shortcuts on the game board give players an additional level of choice
 * Game rules ||
 * **Procedures** || * Buying an item
 * Individual mode to earn money
 * Movement on the board
 * Action(s) on each square
 * Solve math problems || * "Buy" squares
 * "Opportunity" squares
 * "Chance" squares
 * "Blank" squares
 * "Start zone"
 * Linear movement on the game board
 * Instructions on game cards
 * Game rules ||
 * **Processes** || * Order of players
 * Determine shopping list
 * Cooperative effort to earn money
 * Yard sale for players to sell items || * Flexibility to determine size of shopping list
 * "Opportunity" squares
 * Game rules ||
 * **Probabilities** || * Decisions other players will make
 * Risk and opportunities presented to players
 * Pace of each player || * Competition to buy items
 * Cooperative effort that allows players to earn more money
 * Selling items
 * Chance cards
 * Die roll
 * Return on investment
 * "Blank" squares ||
 * **Context** || * At the shopping mall and in the neighborhood || * Board game is divided into two distinct zones - Shopping Mall & Neighborhood
 * Players enter Mall to buy items or stays in the Neighborhood to earn money
 * Players can only be in one zone at any given time ||
 * **Vantage Points** || * Buyer
 * Seller
 * Opportunist
 * Initiator
 * Co-op Player || * Players are Buyers when they exercise the option to purchase items
 * Players are Sellers when they take advantage of the given opportunities to sell their items to another player
 * Players are Opportunists when they want to earn money in the Neighborhood
 * Players become an Initiator when they request cooperation from another player to earn a higher return on investment
 * Players become Co-op Players when they agree to enter into a cooperative effort to earn a higher return on investment ||

STOP

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=Game Materials= List each of the physical objects one would find in the box. For example, the board, each type of card, each type of prize or token, etc.) After listing the materials, describe each in as much detail as needed. Include illustrations of the board and each type of card.

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=Time Required= How long would the game take to set up? How long to play? Would one carry a game over several play periods?

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=The Rules= List the rules as you would provide them to the players. Use a numbered list and keep the rules short, simple, and unambiguous. If there are multiple forms of the game for different objectives or different levels of challenge, separate the rules accordingly rather than merging them into one set.


 * Round to the nearest dollar.

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=Motivational Issues= Describe how the game engages the learner. How does it make use of curiosity, challenge, control, fantasy, competition, cooperation, etc.? (No one game will do all of these things, so focus on the particular strengths of this particular game.) Make specific reference to the theoretical readings associated with this course.

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=Design Process= Describe the process you went through in putting the game together. What were your first thoughts? How did you enhance your ideas? What ideas did you consider and reject (and why?). How did you gather background information? What did you do to see if there are similar games out there? What did you do to get feedback on the idea? How did you flesh out the game to the point of having a playable prototype? How did you gather feedback from that? What lessons did you learn from this that you'll carry to your next game design project?

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=References= What did you look at to inform your design of the game?
 * Books & Journals
 * Book1 (Use APA format, except for the negative indent of the first line)
 * Book2 * etc.
 * Electronic*
 * URL1
 * URL2
 * etc.

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